This application relates to a treestand, and more particularly, to a convertible treestand that can be used as a cart for carrying game or supplies.
Treestands are a staple in the hunting industry. Hunters use treestands to elevate themselves above the ground when hunting game such as deer. By elevating themselves, hunters are able to decrease their presence to game while improving their ability to sit quietly for extended periods of time, increase their visibility to monitor game walking around them, and improve their shooting lanes and, thereby, increase their ability to get off a clean shot.
Treestands come in various types—ladder stands, hanging or locked-on type stands, and climbing stands. Ladder stands and fixed stands are typically used by land owners or hunters hunting land where theft is of little concern. These stands are mounted to a tree and left in place so that a hunter simply walks to the stand and then climbs a ladder or steps to the stand. These types of stands eliminate the need to carry a stand and set it up each time the hunter goes hunting; however, they also eliminate the ability to hunt different locations. As a result, these types of stands are very popular where multiple stands are dispersed about a piece of land to allow multiple hunters to hunt an area or to allow a single hunter to move from one location to another.
The most versatile stands are the climbing stands. Because of this versatility, climbing stands have become very popular amongst hunters. Climbing stands allow a hunter to hunt different locations on a single piece of land or to hunt different pieces of land such as a state forest, family owned land, or hunting trips to different states. Thus, a hunter only needs to buy a single climbing stand to hunt multiple areas. FIG. 1 shows a typical climbing stand.
In use, a climbing stand is typically carried on the hunter's back to an area the hunter has designated for placement of the stand. Once the designated area has been reached, the hunter first attaches a lower standing platform to a tree by wrapping an attachment device such as a cord, chain, strap, or V-shaped metal arm around the tree from a first connection point of the stand to a second connection point of the stand. The attachment device is secured at both connection points, thereby attaching the lower standing platform to the tree. The upper seating platform is then attached to the tree at a position above the standing platform in the same manner.
The hunter then stands on the lower standing platform and moves the upper seating platform upwardly to a new position on the tree. Using an up and down motion, the hunter then moves the lower standing platform upwardly to a new position on the tree and continues this process until the upper and lower platforms are at a desired height on the tree. The platforms are then secured and the hunter begins his/her hunt.
The problem with climbing treestands occurs when the hunter shoots and kills a large game animal. Often hunters walk one mile or more from their vehicle to their designated hunting area. Typically, when a hunter kills a large game animal, the hunter climbs down the tree using the up and down motion and then detaches the treestand from the tree and packs it up for carrying on the hunter's back. The hunter then prepares the game animal for removal from the land and back to the hunter's vehicle. Removal requires the hunter to carry the treestand on his/her back and drag a game animal weighing between 100 and 200 pounds over rough terrain for a significant distance, carry the treestand back to the vehicle and then come back and drag the game animal, or carry the treestand back to the vehicle and bring a game cart back to the animal for removal.